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In Tribute (12) : In the days leading up to the Star Festival, small stone shrines began to appear randomly throughout Destiny City–on rooftops, in alleyways, hidden down long forest paths. They’re small, altar-like platforms with a little bowl in the center and a single glowing stone inside. There’s something peaceful, refreshing, about the shrine, even if no one seems to know who is setting them. However, if the stone is removed, the glow vanishes–along with your sense of peace. This was not your offering to take. Immediately, you feel something breathing on the back of your neck but there’s nothing to be seen. Returning the stone returns the area to an uneasy stillness, but if you attempt to leave without returning the stone, a mounting pressure and anxiety will grow within you. You never make it far from the shrine before some unseen force overtakes you. It feels like a great force collides into your back, and unconsciousness is quick to follow. When you awaken, the shrine is gone. All that remains is pain and fear. If you are tempted to leave an offering of your own, however small, you will find yourself feeling as though you have received the protection of something greater than you can understand. This strange blanket of security will last for the remainder of the day. A shrine never stays in the same place for long but no one ever sees who is setting them up or taking them down.
With the man who fed him now gone, Feronia had listened well to his advice and kept away from the other humans. For now, he wanted to look into the forest, or at least the trees, since he had a feeling that the buildings and clear spaces were more common than the trees were. It wasn't something that he liked exactly, but it also wasn't his place to say much about it without seeming like an ungrateful guest on this planet.
As the number of trees picked up, and he found it getting darker and darker as he went, Feronia kept his ears on a swivel to listen for anyone trying to sneak up on him. The night air was still, aside from the occasional gust of wind when he entered a less densely covered section of the forest.
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